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House Dems’ ultimatum: Any immigration bill must have a path to citizenship
Hotair ^ | 07/09/2013 | AllahPundit

Posted on 07/09/2013 3:20:23 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

We … already knew this, didn’t we? The whole point of immigration reform for the left is earning more Latino votes, be they natural-born American citizens or amnestized illegals from Mexico. If you give up the path to citizenship, what exactly have you gained from this process that’s supposed to impress them?

Returning from recess this week after the Senate passed a broad bill that would overhaul the nation’s immigration laws, House Democrats huddled with the four Democratic senators who helped draft the original bill, completing plans to help push immigration legislation through the Republican-controlled House…

In Tuesday morning’s meeting, according to an aide familiar with Mr. Schumer’s remarks, the senator outlined what he described as Speaker John A. Boehner’s five possible options for handling the issue — doing nothing; opting for a piecemeal approach of several separate but related immigration bills; passing a comprehensive bill that does not include a path to citizenship; passing a comprehensive bill that does include a path to citizenship that is different, and likely stricter, than the one offered in the Senate bill; or taking up the legislation that has passed the Senate.

The thinking, Democratic aides said, is that if Democrats hold back their support for any legislation that does not include a citizenship component, House Republicans, faced with a core group of conservative members who oppose almost any immigration bill, will be unable to pass something on their own.

Boehner has a sixth option, actually — pass a more modest comprehensive bill that offers partial legalization in exchange for some border improvements. DREAM amnesty in return for E-Verify, for example. Despite the endless rhetoric from some House conservatives about a path to citizenship being a nonstarter, it’s hard for me to believe there isn’t a majority in the caucus willing to make some sort of concession to legalization given the abject panic among establishment Republicans about alienating Latinos forever. As I’ve said before, the path to citizenship isn’t even the real problem with the Gang of Eight bill. The problem is that initial legalization comes first, before border security, which destroys the Democrats’ incentive to take the border seriously.

But you know, the longer this clusterfark drags on, the more fatalistic I am about a GOP cave at *some* point, even if it’s not this year. For instance, let’s imagine that border hawks like me finally got our way and Schumer agreed that no form of legalization at all will be granted until the border has been measurably improved. The bill passes, Obama signs it, and we “win.” What happens three years from now when Democrats start grumbling that those improvements are taking too long and that it’s racist to make illegals wait for legalization until it’s secure? The whole story of the past six months (or past eight months, dating back to the election) is that GOP leaders are eager to agree to whatever Democrats demand of them in the name of rebuilding their relationship with Latinos. That won’t change as we get closer to 2016; if anything, it’ll get worse, especially as Democrats improve their efforts to register more Latino voters.. So even if border hawks get everything we want and end up with our dream immigration bill, how much do we trust congressional Republicans not to water this thing down fatally once conservatives have stopped paying attention? (Or even in the conference committee, when they are still paying attention?) This is why I can’t understand Schumer driving a hard bargain on the path to citizenship or anything else, unless he thinks a temporary loss would demoralize his base. He’ll win eventually. It’s a fait accompli. Concede what you need to concede to pass the bill and then take suckers like me for a ride afterward.

Speaking of driving a hard bargain to appease your base, hmmmm:

“It’s clear from everything that I’ve seen and read over the last couple of weeks that the American people expect that we’ll have strong border security in place before we begin the process of legalizing and fixing our legal immigration system,” Boehner said outside the Capitol Monday afternoon.

His spokesman Michael Steel explains that the statement is consistent with Boehner’s “long-standing emphasis on border security.”

There’s a potential compromise there if Schumer could afford to ignore his base and play a long game here: Democrats agree that border security should come first, even before initial probationary legalization, in return for including the Gang of Eight’s path to citizenship in the bill. You might get a sizable number of Republicans voting for that. You’d probably get some Democrats too. That’s the whole trick for Boehner now — can he find some coalition that can get to 218 in the House that would include a majority of Republicans (per the Hastert Rule) plus some significant segment (80-100) of Democrats? Maybe this result, from John McLaughlin’s new poll of Latinos, will sweeten the pot:

90

Latinos want so-called “extreme” border security too. And here’s one for jittery Republicans who continue to think immigration is the key to winning Latino votes:

ed2

Amnesty supporters would argue that this misses the point, that Latinos are unwilling to consider GOP policy proposals on the bread-and-butter issues until they show some goodwill on immigration. As Nate Cohn put it at TNR today, immigration may be more important to skeptical Latino voters as a sign of Republicans’ willingness to “rebrand” than on the merits. There’s some truth to that, even though it smells of the idea that Republicans should agree to whatever Democrat concern-trolls claim is necessary for a successful “rebranding” to occur. But like I said up top, if you’re interested in building goodwill, you could always trade a limited amnesty for limited border improvements — especially if the GOP intends to pass its own form of comprehensive reform after retaking the Senate, as Bill Kristol and Rich Lowry suggest. We’ll lose on immigration in the end because Republicans will eventually cave in terror, but we don’t need to lose completely right away.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government
KEYWORDS: amnesty; democrats; immigration
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1 posted on 07/09/2013 3:20:23 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Only chance to stop the Amnesty bill is for the House not to consider any immigration related bill at all.

Michelle Bachman explained it. ANY House bill no matter if it promises all the border security in the world will be a trojan horse.NO bill at all must come out of the House because it will be merged with the Senate Amnesty and trojan horse bill. Call congress.

Tell them to stop all Amnesty or immigration bills.they are all trojan horse bills. some will promise border security that will never be enforced anyway.

Bachmann explained it . The House will write a border security bill only . then in conference the senate will add the virus and then bring it back to the house. then the conservatives won’t vote for it but democrats will all vote for it so then they only need 10% of republicans to pass Amnesty and the virus that will destroy America. so any bill at all will be added the virus . so best thing is for Boner to not let any immigration bill at all come out of the House. that is the only hope . call boner and the members of the House.

Tom Tancredo echos what Michelle Bachmann said.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3036438/posts

call congress . no bill at all from the House

and of course boner must not bring the Senate bill for the House to vote on. no senate bill, no border security bill from the House .nothing.


2 posted on 07/09/2013 3:22:22 PM PDT by Democrat_media (IRS rigged election for Obama and democrats by shutting down tea party)
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To: SeekAndFind

path to citizenship == get the hell out now, come back in through normal legal channels. you cannot reward people with breaking immigration laws.

I say we adopt mexico’s laws on immigration and treating illegals and securing our southern border the way mexico secures its southern border.


3 posted on 07/09/2013 3:23:21 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Wow, so I guess the Demon rats are sacrificing the security and lives of the American people so they can get more Demon Rat voters in Texas and Arizona.

That fact ought to be hitting the airwaves right now.


4 posted on 07/09/2013 3:23:33 PM PDT by SoFloFreeper
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To: SeekAndFind

This horrible Amnesty bill will destroy America:

Gives amnesty to 30 million illegals.

Then each of those 30 million can bring in 5 family members from the 3rd world = 150 million new 3rd world immigrants.

Then the democrats can use these new 100 million democrat voters to achieve absolute power and turn the USA into a communist state as is their goal.

How is this good ?


5 posted on 07/09/2013 3:23:34 PM PDT by Democrat_media (IRS rigged election for Obama and democrats by shutting down tea party)
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To: Democrat_media

no bill!!


6 posted on 07/09/2013 3:23:36 PM PDT by GeronL
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To: SeekAndFind
Hehehe... That's right House Dems, that's right. Keep braying that it MUST have a pathway to citizenship or you will not support it.

So, you know what that means? There will be no bill, and it will be your fault!

LOL! 'bout time we fired back at 'em with their own medicne.

7 posted on 07/09/2013 3:25:37 PM PDT by Jeff Head
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To: Democrat_media

RE: Gives amnesty to 30 million illegals.

Sigh... first, there’s the number 11 Million floating about, then, I hear 13 million, now there’s 30 million (10% of our population ).

Just how may illegals are there really?


8 posted on 07/09/2013 3:25:56 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

As many as it takes to get the rats elected again.....


9 posted on 07/09/2013 3:29:17 PM PDT by illiac (If we don't change directions soon, we'll get where we're going)
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To: Jeff Head

Headline: Dems demand Amnesty!


10 posted on 07/09/2013 3:29:42 PM PDT by glorgau
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To: Jeff Head

If only we had the MSM making our case for us, as they do for the ‘rats!


11 posted on 07/09/2013 3:30:21 PM PDT by mrsmel (One Who Can See)
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To: SeekAndFind

Go to california ,texas or florida,Americans are far outnumbered in many of those cities. yes it’s 30 million illegals not 11 million. how many in california alone?


12 posted on 07/09/2013 3:30:34 PM PDT by Democrat_media (IRS rigged election for Obama and democrats by shutting down tea party)
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To: SeekAndFind

There’s probably 11 million illegals in California alone. they are the majority there.


13 posted on 07/09/2013 3:32:38 PM PDT by Democrat_media (IRS rigged election for Obama and democrats by shutting down tea party)
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To: SeekAndFind

Path to citizenship is just code word for path to the voting booth to vote for democrats.


14 posted on 07/09/2013 3:54:33 PM PDT by Bullish (Psalm 46)
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To: SeekAndFind

How about the only thing in the immigration bill...gives the illegal alliens from everywhere, here, a free ride to their motherland. NO work permits, no welfare, no ER visits, only a bus ride, airplane ride to their motherland.


15 posted on 07/09/2013 3:55:16 PM PDT by tillacum
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To: SeekAndFind

I’ve got a “path” for ‘em: it leads right back to where they came from, along with a free brochure describing how to obtain US Citizenship - legally.


16 posted on 07/09/2013 3:55:16 PM PDT by bigbob
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To: SeekAndFind

The Democrats and the pro-Amnesty Republicans have been repeating 11 million for years. There is a strong belief by many that the real number of illegal aliens in the US already is closer to 30 million.


17 posted on 07/09/2013 4:00:45 PM PDT by Piranha (We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.)
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To: SeekAndFind
Here's yer path to citizenship:

  1. Go home
  2. Apply for a work visa
  3. If you get a work visa, apply for a green card
  4. If you get a green card, apply for citizenship
Any questions?
18 posted on 07/09/2013 4:10:00 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Who could have guessed that pro wrestling would one day be less fake than mainstream journalism?)
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To: SeekAndFind

How about a PATH TO OBEYING THE LAWS OF THIS COUNTRY? I am all for that. Only broken because laws are not enforced. I am so ticked at the MSM/Illegal Immigrant Lobby/Libs/Rinos.


19 posted on 07/09/2013 4:20:54 PM PDT by machogirl (First they came for my tagline)
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To: SeekAndFind

These people came here with the intent on overstaying whatever visa they were admitted on. For practical and humanitarian reasons we are going to allow them to stay. Why isn’t that enough? Why do they have to become full citizens as well? I waste my bandwidth to even ask that rhetorical question.

This is NOT going to end well.


20 posted on 07/09/2013 4:25:00 PM PDT by theBuckwheat
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